Flag of Ivanec

The symbols of Ivanec are prescribed by Decision Odluka o grbu i zastavi općine Ivanec (text), adopted on 13 June 1996 by the Municipality Assembly. Decision Odluka o izmjenama i dopunama Odluke o grbu i zastavi općine Ivanec (text), adopted on 12 December 1996, changes the description of the coat of arms and the flag, but only in an attempt to make it more heraldical, probably after the reception of the approval from the Ministry of Administration or upon their suggestion. This Decision was superseded by Decision Odluka o grbu i zastavi Grada Ivanca, adopted on 23 February 2011 by the Town Assembly and published on 25 February 2011 in the County official gazette Službeni vjesnik Varaždinske županije, No. 5 (text). In the 2001 Decision, the the two 1996 Decisions are referred to by the act number instead of the publication number, which means that the two Decisions were never actually published in any official gazette.
The Town Statutes Statut Grada Ivanca, adopted on 14 November 2001 and published in Službeni vjesnik Varaždinske županije, No. 24, include the description of the coat of arms and the flag, which is omitted in the current Statutes Statut Grada Ivanca, adopted by the Town Assembly in 2009. This is repeated in the amended Statutes Izmjene i dopune Statuta Grada Ivanca, adopted on 20 March 2013 and published on 21 March 2013 in Službeni vjesnik Varaždinske županije, No. 12 (text).
The Town Protocole Rules (Pravila o protokolu Grada Ivanca, text), June 2008, determine various celebrations and commemorations. They regulate the flying of flags around the town and elsewhere, and especially determine who is responsible for hoisting and lowering of them, and who shall provide for replacement of those when they deteriorate etc.

The municipality issued a public competition for the design of the symbols, with prizes of 5000 and, twice, 1000 HRK, a 20 days deadline, and the usual conditions (Varaždinske vijesti, 15 February 1995).
The competition did not yield satisfactory results so that only a second prize was awarded. The design was eventually made by Eduard Kušen, who worked with the municipal authorities to produce a design they found pleasing. Although this is called in the article the final design that is "by all indications" going to be adopted, what is described there is certainly not what was was eventually adopted. Kušen's
design includes "hypertrophied gates of the Old Town in Ivanec with a
silver Maltese cross over it and with a ribbon above inscribed with
the year 1396 - the first mention of Ivanec in sources" (Varaždinske vijesti, 17 April 1996).

The flag is in proportions 1:2, blue with the coat of arms in the middle.

Željko Heimer, 4 November 2013

Coat of arms of Ivanec

Coat of arms of Ivanec - Image by Željko Heimer, 12 February 2003

The coat of arms of Ivanec is "Argent, a Maltese Cross gules, and in chief two mullets azure".
The Maltese Cross is the symbols of the Knights of the Order of St. John, who established in 1369 a fort near the modern town and after whom the town is named ("Ivan" being equal to "John"). The coat of arms is apparently always shown in gray to represent silver, and the shield shape is that of the 11th century, so-called Normand shape, as was presumably used by the Knights.

Željko Heimer, 12 February 2003

Table flag of Ivanec

Table flag of Ivanec - Image by Željko Heimer, 12 August 2000

The vertical table flag, as shown on the website of the Valentino flagmaker, contains the name of the town inscribed in an arch below the coat of arms.